Drifting Sands: A Journal of 21st Century English-Language Haibun and Tanka Prose, Issue 23, September 2023

This issue includes the results of the Wearable Art and Haiku Contest, and I'm thrilled to announce that the following haiku was selected as a winner. It will be paired with this lovely art by Chrissi Villa, and will be available for purchase on various items as a fundraising effort for the Drifting Sands community:

Drifting Sands: A Journal of 21st Century English-Language Haibun and Tanka Prose, Issue 21, May 2023

 Honoured that the following haiga was chosen for the cover of this issue:

Note: this haiku was the winner of the 2017 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Haiku Invitational

Drifting Sands: A Journal of 21st Century English-Language Haibun and Tanka Prose, Issue 20, March 2023

Theme: children

The Price of Grief

In memory of Elizabeth (age 5) and Curtis (age 2) Strange, who perished in a motor vehicle accident along with their parents, Mike and Kelly Strange.

 

Drifting Sands: A Journal of 21st Century English-Language Haibun and Tanka Prose, Issue 19, January 2023

Guest Editor: Sonam Chhoki

Honoured that the following haiga was chosen for the cover of this "Bringer of Hope: Writing in Tandem" collaborative issue:

tanka: Tanja, Golnik, Gorenjska, Slovenia

image: Debbie Strange, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

 

Drifting Sands: A Journal of 21st Century English-Language Haibun and Tanka Prose, November 2022

I'm honoured that Pravat Kumar Padhy included the following micro tanka prose in his essay, Micro Tanka Prose: A Novel Experiment, in the Features and Essays section of the November issue: 

Nearly There

I told them I was dead, but not a single person there believed me...

the sign said

turn back, road ends here

I waken

from a brief sojourn

in another realm

Atlas Poetica, Number 23, 2015

Commentary:

Ellipses mark in the one-line prose infers a possible continuation. This is a personal experience of life and near-death metaphorically portrayed through the signpost indicating the close of the road. The truth of life is reflected at the threshold of happening. It infers a brief halt and recovering back to usher in a new journey. The brief expression evokes a sense of awakening. The tanka embodies a sort of mystical manifestation (yugen tei) expanding the essence of the prose.

—Pravat Kumar Padhy

 

Drifting- Sands-Haibun, Issue 16, July 2022

Thrilled to receive two of ten awards for haiku and tanka in the Monuments Contest No. 1, in memory of Rachel Sutcliffe. My thanks to the judges, Richard Grahn and Christopher Seep (who provided his inspiring photographs)!

canyonlands

a meadowlark sings

me out of myself

First Place Haiku

awaiting

rain's unkept promise

crops wither

in the dust of dreams

passed down to me

First Place Tanka

Also delighted that the following haiga was chosen for this issue's cover:

(Note: this haiku received a Haiku Laureate Award in the 2021 Hexapod Contest)

Drifting-Sands-Haibun: A Journal of 21st Century English-language Haibun and Tanka Prose, July 2022

Honoured to have the following haiga included in the Drifting Sands banner slideshow!

(Note: this haiga received the Grand Prix in the 10th Setouchi-Matsuyama Contest)

(Note: this haiku received a Haiku Laureate Award in the 2021 Hexapod Contest)

(Note: this haiku was the Winner (Canada) in the 2017 VCBF Contest)

Drifting-Sands-Haibun: A Journal of 21st Century English-language Haibun and Tanka Prose, Issue 1, April 2020

Coming Undone


She always wore the same sweater. I've kept it all these years, and I wear it whenever my memories of her start to fade. Today, the last button came off, and I put it in the sweater's frayed pocket for safekeeping. When it slipped through a hole, and dropped between the floorboards, I finally realized that she was never coming home.

heirloom quilt
sparrow prints embossed
on new snow


2nd Publisher's Choice Award
KYSO Flash Haibun and Tanka Prose Contest, 2016